West OC Times

Rep. Michelle Steel (CA-45) has been appointed to a new congressional working group focused on combating the Chinese Communist Party’s role in furthering the fentanyl epidemic in the United States. The Fentanyl Policy Working Group is a product of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the CCP, of which Steel is a member, and its work will begin immediately.

Fentanyl kills over 200 Americans daily and serves as the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45.

“Once again, the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for a global catastrophe, this time by mass-producing and flooding communities with deadly fentanyl,” said Rep. Steel. “Made in China and often smuggled across our southern border, fentanyl has taken many American lives and created widespread addiction. I want to thank Chairman Moolenaar for empowering me to serve in this role, and I’m committed to finding solutions to combating the spread of deadly narcotics and holding the CCP accountable for this atrocity.”

The launch of the working group follows the Select Committee’s April report revealing that the CCP is subsidizing the export of deadly fentanyl into the U.S. In addition to directly subsidizing manufacturing and export of fentanyl materials, the CCP has also allowed illicit chemicals' sale in commercial markets and failed to cooperate with U.S. investigations of known drug traffickers.

“I’m pleased to appoint Rep. Steel to serve on the Select Committee’s Fentanyl Policy Working Group,” said Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar. “Rep. Steel has been a tremendous member of the Committee as we counter the CCP’s malign influence, and I know she will be instrumental in our efforts to shine a light on the Chinese Communist Party’s egregious role in America’s fentanyl crisis.”

Specifically, the Fentanyl Policy Working Group will work to:

- Codify, strengthen, and impose sanctions on entities involved in fentanyl trade.

- Enact and employ trade and customs enforcement measures to restrict fentanyl trafficking.

- Close regulatory and enforcement gaps exploited by PRC money launderers and fentanyl traders.